BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission has asked EU countries for feedback on a limited extension of temporary state aid rules for the agricultural sector as it cited persisting market disturbances and following months of farmers’ protests across the European Union.
The temporary rules known as the Temporary Crisis Framework were adopted in March 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have been tweaked several times since then.
Specific rules for the agricultural sector, which allow governments to provide limited aid to companies in the agriculture and fisheries sector hit by sanctions related to the Russian invasion, high energy prices and green measures, are set to expire on June 30.
“The limited prolongation will allow member states to continue providing limited amounts of aid to farmers where needed and ensure that crisis support measures are implemented effectively,” the EU executive said in a statement, without saying how long the limited extension would be.
Farmers have staged months of protests in France, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Greece and other countries to draw attention to various complaints, among them EU green policies, cheap supermarket prices and low-cost imports from outside of Europe.
